Integration of roaming and non-roaming message processing

Abstract

Various exemplary embodiments relate to a method and related network node including one or more of the following: receiving a message at the network device from a partner device; translating the message to generate a translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol; processing the translated message to generate a response message; translating the response message to generate a translated response message formed according to a roaming protocol; transmitting the response message by the network device to the partner device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method performed by a network device for integrating processing of roaming messages and non-roaming messages, the method comprising:
 receiving a roaming message at the network device from a partner device; 
 translating the roaming message to generate a translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol; 
 processing the translated message to generate a response message; 
 translating the response message to generate a translated response message formed according to a roaming protocol; and 
 transmitting the translated response message by the network device to the partner device. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the roaming protocol is an S9 Diameter protocol and the non-roaming protocol is at least one of a Gx Diameter protocol and a Gxx Diameter protocol. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of translating the roaming message comprises:
 extracting a value from a first attribute-value pair (AVP) included in the roaming message; 
 generating a second AVP including the extracted value, wherein the second AVP is of a different type from the first AVP; and 
 including the second AVP in the translated message. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the roaming message includes a subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) and the step of translating the roaming message comprises:
 extracting a first AVP included in the subsession AVP; 
 extracting a second AVP included in the roaming message outside of the subsession AVP; and 
 including the first AVP and the second AVP in the translated message. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the roaming message includes a first subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) and a second subsession AVP, and the translated message is generated based on the first subsession AVP, the method further comprising:
 translating the roaming message to generate a second translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol and based on the second subsession AVP; and 
 processing the second translated message to generate a second response message. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the translated message corresponds to a virtual IP-CAN session, and the step of processing the translated message comprises:
 attempting to transmit the response message based on an IP-CAN session record associated with the virtual IP-CAN session, wherein the IP-CAN session record indicates that the network device should transmit the response to itself. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of translating the response message comprises:
 generating a first subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) based on the response message; 
 generating a second subsession AVP based on a second response message; and 
 generating a translated response message including the first subsession AVP and the second subsession AVP. 
 
     
     
       8. A network device for integrating processing of roaming messages and non-roaming messages, the network device comprising:
 an interface that receives a roaming message from a partner device; 
 a roaming message translator configured to translate the roaming message to generate a translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol; 
 a non-roaming message processor configured to process the translated message to generate a response message; 
 a non-roaming message translator configured to translate the response message to generate a translated response message formed according to a roaming protocol; and 
 a roaming message processor configured to transmit the translated response message to the partner device. 
 
     
     
       9. The network device of  claim 8 , wherein, in translating the roaming message, the roaming message translator is configured to:
 extract a value from a first attribute-value pair (AVP) included in the roaming message; 
 generate a second AVP including the extracted value, wherein the second AVP is of a different type from the first AVP; and 
 include the second AVP in the translated message. 
 
     
     
       10. The network device of  claim 8 , wherein the roaming message includes a subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) and, in translating the roaming message, the roaming message translator is configured to:
 extract a first AVP included in the subsession AVP; 
 extract a second AVP included in the roaming message outside of the subsession AVP; and 
 include the first AVP and the second AVP in the translated message. 
 
     
     
       11. The network device of  claim 8 , wherein the roaming message includes a first subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) and a second subsession AVP, and the translated message is generated based on the first subsession AVP, and the roaming message translator is further configured to:
 translate the roaming message to generate a second translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol and based on the second subsession AVP; and 
 process the second translated message to generate a second response message. 
 
     
     
       12. The network device of  claim 8 , wherein the translated message corresponds to a virtual IP-CAN session, and, in processing the translated message, the non-roaming message processor is configured to:
 attempt to transmit the response message based on an IP-CAN session record associated with the virtual IP-CAN session, wherein the IP-CAN session record indicates that the network device should transmit the response to itself. 
 
     
     
       13. The network device of  claim 8 , wherein, in translating the response message, the non-roaming message translator is configured to:
 generate a first subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) based on the response message; 
 generate a second subsession AVP based on a second response message; and 
 generate a translated response message including the first subsession AVP and the second subsession AVP. 
 
     
     
       14. A tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions for execution by a network device for integrating processing of roaming messages and non-roaming messages, the tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising:
 instructions for receiving a roaming message at the network device from a partner device; 
 instructions for translating the roaming message to generate a translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol; 
 instructions for processing the translated message to generate a response message; 
 instructions for translating the response message to generate a translated response message formed according to a roaming protocol; and 
 instructions for transmitting the translated response message by the network device to the partner device. 
 
     
     
       15. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the roaming protocol is an S9 Diameter protocol and the non-roaming protocol is at least one of a Gx Diameter protocol and a Gxx Diameter protocol. 
     
     
       16. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions for translating the roaming message comprise:
 instructions for extracting a value from a first attribute-value pair (AVP) included in the roaming message; 
 instructions for generating a second AVP including the extracted value, wherein the second AVP is of a different type from the first AVP; and 
 instructions for including the second AVP in the translated message. 
 
     
     
       17. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the roaming message includes a subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) and the instructions for translating the roaming message comprise:
 instructions for extracting a first AVP included in the subsession AVP; 
 instructions for extracting a second AVP included in the roaming message outside of the subsession AVP; and 
 instructions for including the first AVP and the second AVP in the translated message. 
 
     
     
       18. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the roaming message includes a first subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) and a second subsession AVP, and the translated message is generated based on the first subsession AVP, the tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further comprising:
 instructions for translating the roaming message to generate a second translated message formed according to a non-roaming protocol and based on the second subsession AVP; and 
 instructions for processing the second translated message to generate a second response message. 
 
     
     
       19. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the translated message corresponds to a virtual IP-CAN session, and the instructions for processing the translated message comprise:
 instructions for attempting to transmit the response message based on an IP-CAN session record associated with the virtual IP-CAN session, wherein the IP-CAN session record indicates that the network device should transmit the response to itself. 
 
     
     
       20. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions for translating the response message comprise:
 instructions for generating a first subsession attribute-value pair (AVP) based on the response message; 
 instructions for generating a second subsession AVP based on a second response message; and 
 instructions for generating a translated response message including the first subsession AVP and the second subsession AVP.